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I spent time reading and listening to the Mayor’s description of the State of the City of Rochester which I found very well politically positioned. Yep, he’s doing a good job. Yep, he’s hitting some key points necessary to stay in office. Yep, highlighting some key points his re-election funders want to hear. Yet, with all the issues he mentioned, there was no mention of the need for Rochester to address the continuing, decades old, failed educational approach to educating the 26,000 Rochester City School students. No mention of his desire to have RCSD Administration, School Board and Teachers Union work together to fix the broken approach, no mention of the poor results being a problem for HIM and his Administration in delivering a healthy City of Rochester community. Tell those responsible that poor performance is not good for City of Rochester.
Monroe County and the Finger Lakes Region depend on an educated workforce—even just NYS average test scores would be OK—which could be obtained IF a community leader like the Mayor made Educating to State Average test scores a goal. The State of Education in City of Rochester is just so terrible. Only 5 schools out of the 60 schools in the City of Rochester achieved State of NY average test scores for Math & ELA. How can the Mayor not mention the importance of having this corrected and offering to help if asked to be part of task force.
I have spoken to hundreds of employers who are having a hard time hiring, training and keeping a productive workforce. The Rochester School students are an important component for Greater Rochester Chamber, Greater Rochester Enterprise, Rochester Trade Unions and service & manufacturing industry.
I challenge the Mayor to address this piece of the State of the City he avoided with a commitment to work side by side with the RCSD Administration, School Board and Teachers Union to set a Goal to correct the current, ongoing results.
Here’s a Goal suggestion for the expanded team = 50% of the Rochester City Schools including Charters will achieve NYS average test sources for Math and ELA by 2030.
Howie Jacobson
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See Howard, you assumed the worst of Paul and the good people at the RB who provide such a critical service to the community.
You accuse the mayor of being scandalous. What scandal? Is he embezzling funds? Taking bribes? Kicking puppies?
You can agree or disagree with him, and Duffy, but the attacks on their character are \ unproductive.
It goes back to my comment, it’s on the mayor to fix the RCSD, and it would be unconstitutional for him to drive in that lane. That you have yet to address.
Well Howie, yeah I knew you ran for school board twice and I think the word is shellacked. Last place in one and dismal in another.
Which I would guess, would be the same outcome if you ran for mayor.
Just maybe it’s time to ask, “Is it me?” Is really reasonable to think everyone else is wrong about everything?
Is it Occam’s Razor or Bayesian reasoning we’re looking to?
So many people keep saying this “is unacceptable!” Yet it HAS been accepted for decades ( https://www.roccitymag.com/news-opinion/the-more-things-change-48-years-with-the-rcsd-10771770/ ); STILL is being accepted, and always will be -unless and until a criticall mas of people ban together seriously – to do something about it. Otherwise long after many of us are dead and gone – folks will still be running down that same old non-effective, irrelevant rhetoric about it being “unacceptable” – while accepting it!!!
Howie Eagle, maybe you should run for school board. Let the public decide if they like your ideas.
Or maybe mayor, Howie, run for mayor.
“Gare,”
First and foremost, my name is NOT so-called “Howie.” Secondly, obviously, you don’t pay close attention. If you did, you would know that I ran for school board, and discovered that (here in modern-day-slave town U.S.A.) – the relatively minuscule numbers of the electorate who even bother to come out for Board of Education elections – definitely do not like my ideas, especially and particular (AS YOU KNOW WELL) – my insistence that if widespread, significant, fundamental, measurable, permanent academic change and improvement is too ever occur within the RCSD – the “leadership” MUST NECESSARILY BE WILLING TO SERIOUSLY CONFRONT ONE OF THE GREATEST OBSTACLES THAT HAS ALWAYS EXISTED WITHIN THE RCSD – THAT IS, THE TRIPARTITE BEAST AND ILLNESS OF INDIVIDUAL, INSTITUTIONAL, AND STRUCTURAL RACISM – PERIOD ( https://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/local/communities/time-to-educate/stories/2018/07/13/racism-rcsd-rochester-city-school-district-howard-eagle-investigation/760499002/ )!!! That’s the main issue that you all do NOT want someone who would be sitting on the Board – to be constantly raising. I get it. You MUST protect white supremacy at all costs. By the way, I am NOT interested in running for Mayor, or any other Office (other than the one I used to be interested in). I STAY IN MY LANE – STICK TO WHAT I KNOW, WHICH INCLUDES THE BEAST AND EDUCATION – PERIOD. Now, what about you??? You do a whole lot of babbling. What are you prepared tpo run for???
“Gare,”
After my loss in 2015 – my concession statement was as follows:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1450192585233062/permalink/2896635420588764
This is even more pitiful – when considering that Malik Evans was a member of the Rochester Board of Education for FOURTEEN YEARS (FIVE OF WHICH HE WAS PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD). Dude is scandalous!!!
Howie,
It would be inappropriate for the mayor to make goals for the RCSD.
The RCSD is a different entity independent from mayoral control. Let’s take a spin in the way-back machine when a mayor called Duffy tried to change that.
Didn’t happen.
The mayor setting goals for the RCSD would be akin to the school board setting goals for the mayor. Now, considering the medieval atmosphere of the board with all its court intrigue, backstabbing, and ego-centric power plays, who’d want that?
Now maybe if Trump was mayor he’d happily overstep his bounds and tend to another’s garden.
But that would be wrong.
And the mayor has enough to do…
“Gare,”
As is usually the case – you’re talking-loud, and saying nothing. No one has suggested that “the [so-called] mayor [should] make goals for the RCSD.” However, he (along with other pundits) are ALWAYS YAPPING about the need for the two governmental entities to collaborate. So, what are you talking about??? You claim that former so-called “mayor Duffy tried to change [who] makes goals for the RCSD.” That is, he attempted to bring mayoral control into existence. In fact, he declared that it was so-called “the hill that he was willing to die on” (politically speaking). You claim that
“didn’t happen,” but do you remember WHY NOT??? Let me remind you: He quickly abandoned that so-called “hill” (in other words – the children), and ran off to Albany – when corrupt Cuomo came calling – remember (https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/rochester/news/2022/01/23/former-lt–governor-says-cuomo-resignation-spoke-volumes )???!!! Can you tell us more (in detail) about the so-calledCuomo “medieval atmosphere of the board with all its court intrigue, backstabbing, and ego-centric power plays???” Is it any different than the “medieval atmosphere [at 30 Church Street and/or 39 West Main Street] with all [of their] court intrigue, backstabbing, and ego-centric power plays???”
Something tells me that ” if Trump was mayor” – YOU would like that a lot.
55 schools below average is unacceptable! Universal Pre-K and a huge budget haven’t seemed to move the needle. I have volunteered in the RCSD at the K-1st grade level and have witnessed firsthand the disabilities and behavioral problems that are not being addressed. Absenteeism is also problematic. This unfortunate situation will require a major re-set. If only the Superintendent, School Board, and the teachers Union could put aside their differences and focus on the education of children!